tasty

Latency, my friend. You will learn that when recording on a computer, latency is the issue. Think about it. The computer has to process the sound coming in (your overdub), mix it with the sound you previously recorded, apply effects then output to the speakers. Naturally there are going to be issues with this process, especially with a entry-level soundcard. There are many interfaces out there that have practically no-latency monitoring because the monitor is actually the live signal you are playing, BEFORE it goes to the puter. ZERO-LATENCY monitoring is what you are after. It is practically the only easy way to deal with the problem you are having. Some music programs have a setting for latency which will delay the overdub but you are better off saving up for a better audio I/O....go to a site like www.sweetwater.com or any of the big audio places and they can help you with your recording ventures. Hope this helps, Ben

Just got a LR Baggs X-Bridge to put in my rebuild proj am std. strat. It seems the bridge will fit on the existing studs, but the e saddle keeps hitting the stud on large dives...The new studs that are included with the X-Bridge are quite a bit smaller in diameter than the original Strat studs. Should I plug the existing holes with dowels then redrill? Is there a better option? It seems like I should plug up those holes then insert the new studs.

Where can one purchase a large quantity of Behlen (or similar) clear gloss nitro? All i can find is quart cans. Thanks, Ben

Great guitar, BTW. Hey what are those orange things in the pic you are using as an amp riser?

I would say that the AMP isolation thing does indeed work. Whether or not it "delivers a purity of tone like you've never heard before" would be debatable. In fact, just by aiming the combo towards the player (using a stand or tilt legs) is generally the way to go. Many players place the amp on the floor and can't hear it over the din of the band. Try getting an angled stand first, or tilt back legs. They are much cheaper than the GRAMMA and probably do you more good. After all, what good is an 'isolation riser' if the sound is just bouncing off your ankles?

Cool. I think i am going to try to make sure I do this to every pickup from now on...at least give some sort of protection from my sweaty hands....

Very awesome guitar. Totally sweet. My only quibble would be to ditch the home-depot screws that hold down the rings and get all black hardware instead. Easy change.

Just curious if any of you have had any experience with lacquering pole pieces on a pickup (to prevent rusting or corrosion)? After a while, shiny new pole pieces tend to get corroded, even with cleaning and wiping down the axe. I heard that clear nail polish or perhaps some clear lacquer might do the trick. I just did a light coat on some cheap gfs pickups, but was wondering if it affects the tone or anything negative like that.

When the nitro passes the "fingernail test." Generally can be from 3 days to a few weeks.....practical hardness after about 30 days, but you still want to be careful because the finish is soft during the first month or so. As you probably know it never stops curing...you can play after about a few days, but you shouldn't. There are plenty of horror stories of a perfect finish being ruined by guitar case fuzz because the person just couldn't wait. You should finish it, and forget about it for a month or two. Then sand, polish and enjoy. Nothing worse that f-ing up a guitar that 'had' a perfect finish because you were in a hurry. Ben

A rag dampened with Naptha works wonders.

(dup)

You guys are great, seriously. Ever since I have found this forum a few months ago, it has propelled me to fine tune, refinish, and build my own guitars. So much valuable information and the people who wish to share it too! Such a rare breed. I do believe that I will try to get a large quantity of clear nitro....i wish there was a place locally that sold it by the gallon? Sherwin Williams? Home Depot? Just the amount of money i have spent of Deft (works great btw) is a lot. Thanks for the welcome, and I will contribute what knowledge i have of anything to this wonderful resource for luthiers and us wannabee-luthiers (thats me)....

Thanks fellas, I just wanted to know where I could buy some poly thats all. I do appreciate your warnings and concern for my safety thats for sure. Somehow I feel like im being scolded and am being told that i can't have what "the big boys" use. Thanks for the advice however I do sincerely appreciate it.

I live in Connecticut. I see that its really cost-effective to get Nitro (say at stewmac) but now that I have the gun i was hoping I could get some poly...if only nitro didn't keep shrinking/turning yellow I would be totally satisfied. I have been doing some searching on the colortone waterbased lacquer, but still am not totally convinced its as good (deep looking) as nitro. However, if i picked up some clear poly i know it would be expensive, but very lush and I would hopefully have some left over for clearcoating more guitar projects!

Hello Everyone, Just ran out and got a 26 gallon, hp compressor with all the goodies (spray gun, grav fed spray gun, impact wrench, air ratchet, grease gun (ill never use that) and air hammer. ...now if it only came with an "air guitar" lol.. I did some math quickly in my head about how much I spent on rattlecans for just this one project and almost had a heart attack! Buying paint/clear in regular tins and using your own spray equipment is WAY cheaper...duh! But seriously, where on the internet can I buy PPG or similar 2 part polyurethane paints? Perhaps there is someone out there who would sell this stuff to guitar builders such as you and I? I know its expensive, but I can't wait to see the results (brian of LGM guitars) seems to swear by the stuff! Thanks

Yes. The second one is a total piece. I love not only how the back is pristine but how the front looks like it was palm sanded clean in like 30 seconds. What a piece of ka-ka. Maybe someone should buy it just to paint the body a solid color and put that guitar out of its misery. Oh yeah, the knobs don't even come close to matching the pickup covers. She eesh!

If you must use rattle cans (like I do) I would suggest the DEFT lacquer as one of the best. Just be sure to do a complete compatibility test on a scrap piece of wood to see if your primer, color coat, and clear lacquer all work together. I had great results with the DEFT and it is readily able to be purchased everwhere (even WAL-MART). Hopefully your clear will be okay already but in the future you may want to check out DEFT lacquer. The only real drawback is that you have to wait like 30-60 days (or more) until the stuff gets really hard. Hope this helps.

Yeah, 20 dollars worth of ka-ka. I had some EMG HZ's in my beater Jackson and they were terrible. I use them as paperweights at my desk at work. JB bridge and Jazz neck. Yum.

I actually playe Guitar Hero for the first time over my friends house and couldn't put it down. I absolutely loved it! The song selection encompassed many great classic/modern rock songs and it was good practice even for rhythm and timing. I like the "super mode" where after you get special you point the headstock up in the air and you do all these tricks. I am so getting this for christmas. It looks and sounds stupid but it really is way fun! Check it out!

I own the GT-6 and think its a good pedal for recording or studio work. My favorite feature is probably the "master BPM" where it can do delays/phases yadda yadda to a certain BPM. Perhaps my favorite patch on there is 'Run like Hell" where I have the BPM set to 116bpm and a little flange, a little delay with chorus...man its awesome being able to nail that Pink Floyd song. I used to gig out with mine but the main issue is that you have to be real careful about setting volumes on all the patches so they are the same. Otherwise switching from one patch to another will blow the soundguy and (your reputation) out of the bar. I use a basic 4 pedal setup now but still use the GT-6 as a backup.... oh yeah i painted the entire GT-6 with spray-on black truckbed liner...but that shouldn't surprise most people on this board!

Thanks for all the help guys! Both your guitars look sweet! I can't wait to get a body to work on soon. In the meantime im' refinishing my american std. strat in silver because the other red finish was getting beat. So much good information on here! I don't know if i will quite use a blue lacquer or if it will just be clear over the dye. So.... 1. dye black/sand back 2. dye blues/burst etc/sand if needed 3. fade edges with black dye 4. sanding sealer 5. clear clear clear (deft) 6. buff to a shine That seems to be my plan. My V will look similar to Wez V but it will have a wraparound stoptail, classic gibson style headstock, and black knobs/pickups (JB and Jazz). Thanks for everything. Now im off to the kitchen to check on the sanding sealer for the strat body to see if its quite ready. -Ben

Beerhunter, That looks awesome! You were using a veneer right? So just take it easy on the ol' sanding after you dye it black huh? I can't wait to get a nice blue like you got there. Where did you get your dye? and what type is it? I think most people are telling me to forget the sanding sealer. 1. Pore fill (with what?) 2. Dye black, Sand back 3. Apply blue dyes 4. Sand small amount if needed/add more dye 5. Clearcoat 6. Buff and enjoy the coolest custom axe around! This seems like the steps to take? yes?

Hello all! I am a brand new member and this is my first post. I have been reading Project Guitar non-stop the last week and it has inspired me to not only repair/upgrade the axes I own currently, but to build a project axe too! Especially inspiring was GF's photo tutorial of how to build a strat from scratch and also Mika Guitar's how to burst. Anywho. I figure I will build a warmoth project 'v' for my first homebuilt deal and I really want it to have a maple figured top (laminate i guess). I want it to be blue and probably a quilted design. I was wondering because there seems to be a debate on if one should dye the top black, then sand back and then dye...or just to dye then over shoot with some black around the edges. I would love to see this flying V in a blue sort of burst with brighter blue in the middle and going to a black on the outside. I will probably paint the back black as well as the headstock (therefore no natural binding necessacary). I have yet to see a quilt-top blue flying V so this should be hopefully a rare thing. I have planned to have a JB/Jazz configuration with 2tone/2vol and all chrome hardware/sperzels. 1> should I dye it black first then (carefully) sand back then dye blue? 2> does dye work through sanding sealer? 3> what type of sealer do you reccomend? I'm leaning towards dying black first because the back will be black, and it will make for a nicer fade burst to the edges...maybe i will need 2 types of blue for that added cool-factor. Thanks for all your help and inspiration (it seems a lot of other guys besides myself have guitar on the brain 24/7)..why buy some shelf garbage when you can build your own custom masterpiece!?